UF coach Will Muschamp seeks answers in Gators' secondary as season opener looms

Jeff Driskel and Gators' passing game got the best of the defense during a recent scrimmage

August 19, 2014|By Edgar Thompson, Orlando Sentinel

GAINESVILLE — A big day for quarterback Jeff Driskel and UF's receivers in the Swamp was a welcome sight for coach Will Muschamp during last Friday's team scrimmage.

But big plays from a Gators' passing game among the SEC's worst the past three seasons came at the expense of a UF secondary with questions marks.

"That's encouraging on one side of the ball, on the other side, it's not so good," Muschamp said Monday.

The Gators enter the final two days of training camp still wondering who will line up opposite All-SEC cornerback Vernon Hargreaves III and alongside sophomore safety Keanu Neal, who has secured a starting job.

Coaches hope to get some answers during the coming days.

The team will wrap up preseason camp Wednesday and then will turn its attention Thursday and Friday to the Aug. 30 season opener at home against Idaho.

Nickel back is another option for Poole or Dawson, especially while sophomore Marcus Maye recovers from a hamstring injury expected to sideline until Monday.

"Got some guys who have done some decent things, we just have to be more consistent," Muschamp said. "Our coaches need to get off the field and let the players play. That's what we're going to do more of moving forward."

The Gators' new, up-tempo offense make several big plays last Friday, including a 97-yard touchdown by receiver Ahmad Fulwood and a touchdown by receiver Chris Thompson during which he made a few tacklers miss.

Muschamp said UF's receivers have been winning too many of the one-on-one battles, coming up with the so-called "50-50 balls" that could go either way.

"We're going to play man-to-man," Muschamp said. "We're going to play tight coverage. There's going to be a bunch of 50-50 balls, and we've got to go make those plays."

In addition to sorting out questions in the secondary, Muschamp and his staff he would like to see someone emerge to win the backup quarterback job.

On Saturday, Grier had one of his practices throwing the football, following several days during which Harris was the better of the two.

Friday's scrimmage, which was closed to the public, did not yield an answer.

"Very close," Muschamp said of the competition. "I think that there have been a lot of positives, but I feel like sometimes we take two steps forward and one step back."

Coaches have tried to cut back on the playbook to help the young quarterbacks make quicker decisions. But this cannot be a long-term solution, especially if Driskel is injured.

An ankle injury sidelined Driskel for the second to last game of the 2012 regular season, against Jacksonville State, and bothered him for more than a month. Last season, Driskel missed nine games with a broken lower right leg.

"We've tried to narrow down the package with all of those guys, not do as much as we're doing with Jeff," Muschamp said. "But we also can't inhibit our offense to continue to move forward, because we're already making some progress at other positions. Not that we're not making progress there, but sometimes you've got to simplify some things to get the execution where you want it."